Ligand Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:LGND) Shares Cross Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:LGND) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $105.98 and traded as high as $111.65. Ligand Pharmaceuticals shares last traded at $110.31, with a volume of 94,566 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $141.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $135.00 price target on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Monday, December 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, December 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals from $135.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $147.00.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Stock Up 0.2 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $116.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $106.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 44.06 and a beta of 1.05.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ligand Pharmaceuticals news, CFO Octavio Espinoza sold 2,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.37, for a total transaction of $244,842.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,647 shares in the company, valued at $2,402,691.39. This represents a 9.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John L. Lamattina sold 2,406 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.65, for a total transaction of $297,501.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,515 shares in the company, valued at $3,649,529.75. The trade was a 7.54 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 5.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ligand Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of LGND. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 20.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 43,456 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $4,349,000 after purchasing an additional 7,247 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 428,270 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $42,874,000 after buying an additional 22,495 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 12.4% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 59,574 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $5,963,000 after acquiring an additional 6,555 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 5.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 163,924 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $16,407,000 after acquiring an additional 8,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ligand Pharmaceuticals by 16.6% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 115,480 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,558,000 after acquiring an additional 16,446 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.28% of the company’s stock.

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the development and licensing of biopharmaceutical assets worldwide. Its commercial programs include Kyprolis and Evomela, which are used to treat multiple myeloma; Rylaze, a recombinant erwinia asparaginase for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma in adult and pediatric patients; Filspari, a dual endothelin and angiotensin II receptor antagonist in development for rare kidney diseases and non-immunosuppressive treatment indicated for immunoglobulin A nephropathy; Teriparatide injection product for osteoporosis; Vaxneuvance for the prevention of invasive disease caused by streptococcus pneumoniae serotypes; and Pneumosil, a pneumococcal conjugate vaccine to help fight against pneumococcal pneumonia among children.